PREVALENCE OF GIARDIA LAMBLIA IN ASSOCIATION WITH BODY MASS INDICES OF CHILDREN 0-5 YEARS PRESENTING WITH GASTROENTERITIS IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

📄 Project Abstract

Acute gastroenteritis presenting as infant diarrhoea remains a common illness among infants and children throughout the world. Among children in the United States, acute diarrhoea accounts for more than 1.5 million outpatients, 200,000 hospitalized inpatients and about 300 deaths per year (Zimmerman et al., 2001; CDC, 2014). It has been established that in the very poor countries of Africa, Asia and South America a child suffers up to 15 to 19 episodes of diarrhoea with 4.6 million to 6 million deaths annually (Grote et al., 2011). In Nigeria, available report indicates that more than 315,000 deaths of preschool age children occur annually as a result of infantile diarrhoea disease with 80% of the population affected (Aminu et al., 2008; Ayolabi et al., 2012). Gastroenteritis or gastro is an illness caused by infection and/or inflammation of the digestive tract. It is characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and/or stomach cramps. Other symptoms may include fever, headache, blood o...